Sacrifice of Humanity
by SecretArt
Summary: Sg-1's relaxing trip is cut short by a worrying translation. slight SJ
1. A relaxing Trip

Sacrifice of Humanity

By S.A

Sam sighed, watching as Daniel pilled out yet another notebook from his pack, quickly opening it and writing out more translations.

Two days, they have been there for two days, but it had taken her less than three hours to realise that there was no technology, no interesting plants or animals to sample. Just ruins, lots and lots of writing covered walls to keep Daniel happy and the rest of them bored.

She tilted her head slightly as footsteps approached, rolling from her back to her side to give her a better view. Jack strolled into view, whistling to himself as he completed yet another trek around the local area, already familiar with the terrain but finding it to be the only way to pass the time without resorting to helping Daniel.

He raised his eyebrow as he spotted Sam, lying on her side on one of the grassy embankments surrounding the temple ruins. Her jacket and T-shirt had been carefully folded and placed under her head as a makeshift pillow.

"Sunbathing Carter?"

She smiled, stretching as she sat up, her tank top raising slightly as she did. "There wasn't much else to do Sir."

He sat down next to her, unclipping his P90 and placing it beside his feet. He looked at he, noticing how ruffled her hair had become, trying to resist the urge to run his fingers through it.

Seeming to read his mind she lifted her own hands to her hair, quickly running through them before flattening it down.

He nodded, satisfied. "Where's Teal'c?" He asked, realising that the Jaffa was not sat anywhere near them

"Helping Daniel."

He looked at her, shocked, trying to work out if she was joking or not. She tilted her head towards the ruin, biting her lip to stop herself laughing. Teal'c had walked down there a few minutes after Jack had left to 'patrol'. Sam had watched in confusion, slowly realising what he was doing as he knelt down beside Daniel, the surprise on the archaeologist's face evident as Teal'c explained why he was there. She had been slightly amazed when Daniel nodded as what Teal'c had said, handing him a notebook and pointing to a wall.

"I don't believe it."

Coming back to the present she looked towards the voice, the lopsided grin on his face as he watched the Jaffa attempting to copy down lines of text off a highly decorated wall appearing rather cute to her.

"I can't believe Teal'c gave in before me."

She laughed, "I don't think Daniel can either, he owes me twenty dollars now."

"You placed bets on us?" He looked annoyed but was barely trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

She shrugged. "It's no worse than when you and Teal'c placed bets on which of us would figure out the device on our last mission."

"Yes, who'd have thought a food mixer could need that many buttons."

"Actually it's fascinating, they were a very effective society, combining all their food processors into one that could do what ever they needed, rather than having a whole kitchen full of devices like on Earth."

He rolled his eyes, collapsing back onto the grass, the expected frown of disapproval appearing on her face moments later. She leaned back onto her elbows, angling her head so that she was staring down at him.

"Why didn't you get bored first?"

"You won the bet, you obviously had a reason not to expect me to."

"True, but I thought you would have been so annoying that Teal'c would have no choice but to go help Daniel to get away from you."

He placed a hand on his heart. "You wound me Carter, am I really that annoying?"

She moved her arms, falling onto her back. "Only when bored."

"You'd better keep me occupied then."

She froze, her head whipping to face his equally surprised expression. He hadn't even thought about the words, the flirty sentence leaving his mouth before he had a chance to stop it. He waited for her to say something, maybe even storm off but when she hadn't moved in five minutes he relaxed, a slight smile appearing on his face as she moved to match his position.

"How about a game, I spy?"

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, her expression blank, eyes staring up into the cloudless sky. "Sure, I spy with my little eye something beginning with T."

She laughed, shaking her head in amusement before appearing to ponder it for a few seconds. "Trees?"

"Got it in one." He grinned as she started the next one, feeling like he was in a dream, a very nice one, where he was playing I spy with a beautiful astrophysicist wearing only a tank top.

They were still playing the game an hour later when Daniel scrambled up the hill, pack flung over his back, Teal'c following behind, his large graceful strides easily keeping up with the younger mans rushed running and falling. "Jack, Sam, I've found something."

They both sat up, sharing a look as he finally reached them, waiting patiently for him to catch his breath.

"What you find spacemonkey?"

"Yesterday I translated a piece of wall that mentioned a ritual however it didn't give specifics. Teal'c managed to translate another bit of text that also referenced the ritual. We've been working on translating the surrounding text for the past few hours and I think I may have worked out what they temple was built for. "

"This is all fascinating Daniel but lets simplify it shall we. In the shortest amount of words possible answer me these, first, are we in danger? Second, why? And third, can we leave yet?" Jack almost whined the last one, and if it hadn't been for the seriousness of the situation Daniel would have pointed it out.

"Yes, the temple is for rituals of human sacrifice, and leaving would be a good idea if it weren't for the fact that according to the dates listed on the wall, a sacrifice is due sometime today."

"Today? Well I for one say we get out of here before we get to find out just what kind of sacrifice they are after."

"It's actually a rather basic sacrifice. They do it to honour their gods…"

Teal'c interrupted, sensing that while Major Cater was interested, O'Neill was getting ready for battle. "O'Neill, I believe leaving would be unwise. It is already late in the day so there is a large possibility that the group is already on their way. If we were to take the path we would most likely encounter them."

"We can't go back any other route Sir, the only other choices would be the forest, which is too dense or the lake, and we have no way of knowing what is in there or how deep it is."

"So what options do we have left?"

"We need to find cover, away from the temple."

"I agree we need cover, but Jack this is something too good to miss, this culture is nothing like anything I've seen on Earth, it references a few obscure cultures but most of it must have been learnt from a large number of different people they met. They're nomads Jack, and it'll be twenty years before they return here."

"Whatever the decision it must be made soon O'Neill, people approach."

They all turned to look at the path seeing a group slowly moving into view. Hoping that they were too busy to look up, Jack signalled for them to quickly move over the hill, Sam just having time to grab her clothes before being pulled over. She silently dressed as Teal'c crawled up to the edge, peering over to view what was happening.

A small group of six or seven, clothed in blood red robes, hoods covering their faces, was slowly walking towards the temple. They were followed by a horse and carriage, the white paint of the carriage and covering of its contents contrasting with the black skin of the horse.

Jack moved alongside Teal'c, Sam taking position on his other side, gasping slightly as the carriage wheel hit a stone on the road, the white cloth moving to reveal a body underneath.

"The sacrifice" jack whispered.

"Isn't a sacrifice meant to be alive before it's…sacrificed?" Sam asked, aiming her question more at Daniel than Jack.

"Traditionally maybe, but in a nomadic society sacrifice would most likely have been used as a way to dispose of those too weak to continue travelling, maybe even those who broke the laws. Using religious significance would have made it easier on the families of those sacrificed. However if no one was ill or breaking the laws then it may have fallen out of practise, there would be no need to sacrifice anyone. In fact killing a healthy person would have been a waste. But their religious beliefs would insist on a sacrifice, so they obviously felt that the bodies of their dead would appease their gods as an emotional sacrifice rather than a physical one."

She nodded, glad it meant the danger may be less than they initially feared.

Teal'c moved suddenly, turning to look at the gear they had thrown behind them. "O'Neill, I believe we may have left some of Daniel Jackson's notes within the temple."

-


	2. Raven

Jack shared a look with Daniel, who quickly rushed to his pack, searching through his books before whispering a string of foreign words, a few of which Jack recognised as swear words.

"I must have left it behind in the rush, I'm sorry Jack."

He didn't respond, making an annoyed noise instead as he turned back to Sam, who was staring through a pair of binoculars to the temple below. "Carter?"

She handed them over, quickly glancing at the group that was entering the temple before explaining what she had seen. "It's pretty well hidden behind a pillar, as long a they don't explore the temple during their service we may just get away with it."

Jack nodded, checking for himself that there wasn't anything else they could find. Satisfied that there was only one notebook there he changed his view to where the group was, stiffening as he spotted a pair of female eyes staring straight back at him. He calmly lowered the binoculars, unsure whether he had been spotted or if the woman had simply been looking in that direction.

"Sir?" He looked at her, noticing her concerned expression.

"I think we may have been spotted."

She nodded, remaining calm even as her position changed to one more suited to dealing with any potential threats.

Daniel noticed the change, quickly moving back to the top. "What's happened?"

"O'Neill believes we that we may have been seen."

Daniel nodded. "Maybe we should go introduce ourselves."

"And get sacrificed, I think not."

"With all due respect Sir, Daniel has already explained that they do not seem to take live human sacrifices, and they do not appear to be a violent culture. If we have already been spotted then staying here might appear impolite."

"I agree Major Carter however it is possible that the sacrifice is a very private ceremony, in which case they may not wish us to intrude."

"I think we're about to find out." Daniel interrupted, and they all turned to look, seeing a figure heading in their direction. Daniel jumped up, walking down towards them with his hands out before Jack could stop him.

"Maybe they should sacrifice him, might teach him a lesson."

Receiving a raised eyebrow off both of his remaining team members he shook his head, climbing to his feet and following Daniel, weapon pointing down, a warning that he would use violence if needed rather than a threatening gesture. Sam and Teal'c followed close behind, catching up to the archaeologist just as he began the introductions.

"Hi, I'm Daniel Jackson, from the planet Earth. This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Sam Carter and Teal'c. We mean no harm, we're explorers."

The figure nodded, moving to remove their hood, revealing it to be the woman that Jack had looked at earlier. She was tall, about Jack's height, with tanned skin and deep brown hair that fell in curls to just below her shoulders. "You are the Tau'ri, Goa'uld killers." She spoke with confidence, her eyes focusing on each of them in turn, as if assessing if they truly were whom they claimed. "I am Raven, my people the Ambrosians. I am afraid that I cannot allow you to view the ceremony close up, however I am permitted to invite you back through the Chappaii to our camp for the celebratory feast. "

Daniel smiled, "That would be very kind."

She pulled out Daniel's notebook, holding it out to him. "I believe this belongs to one of your people Daniel Jackson."

"You can call me Daniel, and thank you. These are not my people though, Colonel O'Neill," he pointed towards Jack, "is our leader."

She bowed her head towards him. "My apologies Colonel O'Neill."

He waved her off. "It's not a problem."

She nodded, surprised by their kindness. "I am to escort you to the Chappaii, the others will join us once the ceremony is over."

"We can make our own way there if you should be at the ceremony, it wouldn't be fair of us to prevent you being there."

She looked towards the temple before back at them. " I do not need to be there." Her words were final, yet almost disappointed.

Daniel stared at her, not responding, unsure what to make of it.

"Alrightly then, Carter, Teal'c, go get our gear, it's time to party."

"Yes Sir."

"Indeed"

They walked silently back up the hill, leaving Jack and Daniel with their new host. She stood in silence, staring at them in awe.

"Raven?"

She blinked, blushing slightly as she realised she'd been caught staring. " I am sorry Colonel O'Neill, on our travels we have heard many stories of you and your team. I must admit I was expecting a more scary group of people."

"Scary? We can be scary, right Daniel?"

He rolled his eyes. "If you believed us to be so scary why did you come to meet us?"

"I saw that you were watching us, yet you did nothing. When the others realised we were being watched they sent me to see you. I was only a viewer of the ceremony, the rest are all priests so could not leave."

"Oh. Well we can be scary I guess when we start attacking the Goa'uld, but we would much rather be civilised, violence is only a last resort."

"One you resort to quite often." She sounded completely serious yet there was a sparkle of laughter in her eyes that suggested it was intended more as a joke.

"I take it you have no problems with the Goa'uld?" Sam asked, handing Jack his pack, hers already secured on her back, as Teal'c handed Daniel his.

"Generations ago we were slaves of them, a large number of my people attempted an escape, a few of these made it through the Chappaii, however they had no where to go, no allies. They drifted from planet to planet, settling on a few, like here, for a generation but always moving on, it is our nature. We are explorers such as yourselves, we want to meet people, learn from them, adjust our own methods if theirs are more suitable than what we previously did."

"Yet you return here every twenty years?"

"Years? I do not know that term. But yes, we do return here after a certain period of time, and to four other planets that hold our temples, to honour our ancestors, give those worthy a chance to join them."

She turned once again to the temple, watching in silence until smoke slowly wrapped itself around the pillars, seeping into the surrounding area, hiding the temple and people within. "It is time we left."

She turned quickly, the cape blowing to the side, revealing a tan brown coloured, ankle length skirt. She quickly wrapped the cape back around herself, tilting her head for them to follow as she set off at a brisk pace towards the path. The four members of SG-1 shared a look, Jack shrugging before setting off after her, Daniel jogging ahead to try and catch up with her as Sam and Teal'c followed behind.

They walked quietly towards the gate, Daniel and Raven deep in talk, Teal'c following a few steps behind, far enough away not to be intruding but close enough to protect them if needed. Sam and Jack brought up the rear, walking next to each other, each lost in thought.

"You don't trust her."

Jack looked to his left, to the pair of blue eyes staring intently back at him. "I don't not trust her, I just don't have any reasons to trust her yet."

"She's not a Goa'uld, I checked with Teal'c when we collected the packs, neither of us sensed anything. She seems very open."

"But?"

"She knows a lot about us."

"Exactly Major. We know hardly anything about her, or if what she has said is the truth, but she knows everything she needs to know about us."

They stopped talking as Daniel looked back, waving at them and smiling. They smiled back, Jack giving a half-hearted wave.

Waiting until he was deep in conversation again Sam turned back to Jack. "What are you suggesting Sir?"

"Just keep your eyes open Carter, we have no idea what customs these people have picked up over the years. We'll need to send Hammond a message before we leave, when you do, set the malp to record where we go, and what the others do before Hammond sends anyone to collect it."

She nodded, "General Hammond won't be happy, this was meant to be a vacation for us."

"It was?" He looked at her, surprised.

She smiled. "Yeah, he said it was about time we got to spend some quality time together without worrying about the NID or airforce watching us."

Blushing, she realised that she had said too much, but he only raised an eyebrow, a smug grin appearing on his lips. "He could have warned me before. Then we could have gone fishing while Daniel played with the ruins."

She laughed, refusing to admit that the thought of the two of them fishing there appealed to her.

They said nothing else on the journey; the odd shared looks saying more than any words could. Daniel however chatted away with Raven, taking it in turns to ask and answer questions on their respective cultures. Teal'c listened in, trying to find anything potentially dangerous in amongst the discussions on weddings, food and entertainment.

Reaching the Stargate they paused, waiting for Jack and Sam to catch up.

"Raven, before we leave I need to contact our people on Earth, inform them of where we are going."

Raven nodded, stepping out of the way as Sam made her way to the malp, Daniel following, dialling Earth as Teal'c 'accidentally' stood in the way, hiding Daniel as he pressed the symbols.

Jack watched the scene, watched the alien, trying to identify what it was about her he disliked. She seemed pleasant enough, friendly even, but Jack knew that there was something more, no society that sacrificed it's own people, even if it was generations ago, could not have other sinister practises.

The gate sprang to life, Sam pressing the buttons to make conversation with Earth possible.

"Hey General." Jack waved at the camera.

"Sg-1? You're not scheduled for contact until tomorrow."

"I know, but Daniel made a friend." The camera moved in the direction he pointed, revealing Raven and Teal'c to those at the other end.

"I see."

"We're going to head back to her homeworld, well the one they have for now."

He nodded to Sam, who moved into view of the camera. "I haven't got enough time to set the malp to make it back through the gate, you'll have to send people to collect it later."

She could imagine the confused look on the faces of those in the control room, and of Daniel and Teal'c, and prayed that they would understand and not ask questions.

After what seemed like hours General Hammond finally replied. "Understood. Send us a message in 24 hours to let us know how you are."

"Yes Sir."

She switched the camera off, quickly setting it to do what Jack had requested as footsteps approached.

They all turned to face the sound, gasping at what they saw.

The group of priests had appeared, hoods down, revealing their ghost like appearance. They had white skin; the sun shinning off their bald heads and they wiped the blood from their mouths with the sleeves of their cloaks.


	3. The Temple

Raven walked up to them, bowing before turning to SG-1. "It is customary to bow to the priests after the ceremony."

None of them moved, the priests appearing uncaring as one brushed past them, moving to dial the DHD as the others waited.

Daniel moved closer to Raven, quietly speaking to her. "Why do the priests have blood on their mouths?"

She gave him an odd look, appearing confused by the question. "Do your people not get food on their mouths as they consume it?"

"Yes."

"There is your answer."

She walked to the group of priests, whispering something to them as the gate sprung into life again.

The first priest walked straight through the gate, the rest of the group rushing past to join him. Raven followed after, pausing by the wormhole and turning to face them. "Come on," she shouted before stepping through. They ran up the steps to the gate, just making it through before it shut down.

Jack heard Daniel gasp as they exited the Stargate. They were in some kind of temple; the Stargate placed in the centre.

The room was large, with easily enough space to place another Stargate each side of the actual one, the walls a pale blue colour, steadily getting paler until it was almost a white colour where the walls joined the glass ceiling. The sun was shining brightly through the glass, yet the room was cool, almost as if there was a constant breeze passing through, preventing the sunlight from doing its job.

Daniel quickly pulled out his camcorder, gazing in awe at the walls; the pale blue dotted with stones full of text, and even the occasional picture.

Sam touched Jack's arm, tilting her head towards their right, to the group a few feet in front of them. The priests had replaced their hoods, only the quiet voices and occasionally glimpses of skin suggesting that there was a group of people there at all.

"Where's Raven?" she asked, noticing that there was no sign of the woman in the room.

"She left immediately," Teal'c replied, "exiting through the door as I entered."

They all looked towards the door directly in front of them, its solid wood finish giving no clue of what lay beyond. There was one other doorway in the room, to the left behind the Stargate and Teal'c slowly moved towards it, his mannerisms appearing to show him reading, or at least looking at, what was written on the wall.

Jack returned his attention to Daniel, who was busy talking under his breath as he started to translate the walls. "I wonder what they say?" He muttered, staring at one of the images, a naked woman running through a forest.

"I'm sure Daniel will let you read the rude parts," Sam absently replied, crouching down beside the Stargate.

"Carter?"

"The Stargate has been tampered with." She pointed to a device attached to the side, moving her hand up to reveal more, evenly spread out around the edge. " There must be twenty of them."

"What do they do?"

"I have no idea," she admitted, only able to shrug at his raised eyebrow. "They could be batteries, bombs, maybe even lights. Or they could just be to keep the Stargate upright."

"So you have no idea."

"No Sir."

Jack scanned the room, looking for any other potential threats, finding the room empty except for the people. "Carter? There's no DHD."

"It's behind the priests, I caught a glimpse of it as we came through the gate."

One of the priests suddenly cried out, moving quickly to Teal'c. "Away demon, you may not enter."

Teal'c nodded, walking slowly towards Sam and Jack, Daniel almost running to join them, scared of upsetting them further.

The priest stared at them; his bright grey eyes the only thing they were able to see in the darkness of his hood.

"Raven should not have brought them, we have never had to perform the ritual on four before."

"We swore never to perform it on a woman!" One of the other priests stepped forward, his words angry.

"You would rather she be treated as the other women?" The first priest asked, a tint of horror visible under his clam exterior.

The other priest did not reply, could not, for either answer would have decided her fate. Instead he stepped back, disappearing back into the group.

The first priest moved towards SG-1, appearing to almost glide upon the floor. "You know nothing of what you have agreed to by coming here."

"So tell us," Jack answered, his voice completely humourless.

"I cannot. It would have been better had you never come."

"We could go now," Daniel offered, his desire to find out about the culture diminishing with every word he heard.

"Just because I do not wish to see you subjected to this does not mean I am willing to die to prevent it." The priest sounded insulted at the very idea of putting their lives before his. "I cannot help you, I am sorry."

The priest moved back to his group, all of whom were standing in silence, waiting.

"I believe he was sincere," Teal'c whispered in Jack's ear, confirming what he had suspected, although without seeing the priests expression it was hard to be sure.

Jack was about to say something when the door burst open, two men in forest green armour marching in, protecting a gold cloaked man.

He wore a highly decorated crown upon his head, red and green gems intricately placed along the backs of interlocked snakes.

He pushed through his guards, walking towards SG-1, pausing level with the priests. "I am Amar, Raven's uncle, ruler of this land. You must be the Tau'ri." He stared at them, looking them up and down in distaste. "You trespassed on our sacred ground."

Daniel stepped forward. " We are sorry, we did not realise, the planet appeared unoccupied and it took me a while to translate the text."

"You cannot read?"

Daniel looked insulted and Jack knew he was about to say something that would get them in more trouble. "What my friend means is that he does not read this language, ours is…well different."

"You speak the same language as us but do not write the same?"

"Yep."

Amar nodded, accepting their argument even if he did not appear to totally believe it. "If you would follow me, it is time for the meal. I take it you will partake?"

"Of course." Daniel hastily replied before Jack had a chance to object.

Amar turned and started to walk out of the room, SG-1 quickly following, unconsciously gripping their weapons tighter as the guards brought up the rear.

"Are you sure it's safe for us to eat that food Daniel?" Sam asked, whispering everyone's concern.

"I believe it would be unsafe not to," Teal'c replied, his expression sombre. Daniel nodded, not willing to bring up the danger they appeared to be in so close to their host.

Daniel moved ahead of them, bringing himself in line with Amar. "May I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but yes, you may, whether I will answer is not ensured however."

"Where is Raven."

Amar paused, staring at the archaeologist for a few seconds before resuming their trek. "She is busy."

"Doing what?"

"You must be Daniel Jackson, the nosy one."

Daniel looked at him in shock. "How do you know that?"

"Raven told me." He looked behind them, "Teal'c, the dark skinned devil, Colonel O'Neill the witless, Major Carter the woman."

All three shared a look, Jack grabbing Sam's arm to prevent her from doing or saying anything.

"You need not concern yourself with Raven any longer," he concluded, "you will not be seeing her again."


	4. The Meal

No one was sure how to respond, Daniel wanted to ask what he meant but was afraid to upset him further.

SG-1 moved closer together as they approached a large archway, the noises suggesting that there were a lot of people in the room beyond.

Amar waved his hands as they entered the hall, SG-1 stopping in shock at the sheer magnitude of it.

It was the size of a football pitch, solid wood floors and walls, covered in similar images to the ones where the Stargate was. The room was full of long tables that stretched from one end to the other. Half the tables were full of people, crammed together on wooden benches to eat and socialise. The other tables contained food, mountains of it, some recognisable; pigs, chickens, potatoes; other bits of food were completely alien.

The room fell silent as they entered, hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at them.

"These are the people of the Tau'ri," Amar bellowed, "They are to be treated with the utmost respect at this meal, for they are my chosen dinner guests."

Cheers erupted from the crowd but faded quickly, everyone turning back to their food. SG-1 followed Amar to the end of the room, where the table closest to them had five seats cornered off, two guards ensuring no one sat there.

"My Lord, your seats as requested." They bowed at Amar before walking out of a side door hidden behind a tapestry.

Amar sat at the end of the row, indicating for Sam to sit next to him. Jack quickly took the seat on her other side, leaving Teal'c and Daniel to sit opposite them.

"You must have some questions about my people." Amar paused, staring at each of them in turn, waiting for their questions.

Jack signalled for Daniel to begin. "What is the significance of the sacrifice we witnessed? I noticed the priests had blood over their mouths, it is not something I am familiar with."

Amar looked horrified at the question, finally nodding in acceptance. "I never imagined a people whose beliefs were so far from our own. The sacrifice is a way to honour our most important members of society. It takes place just before their deaths, to ensure their passage to the beyond."

"The sacrifice we saw, he was already dead."

"My brother, the ruler of this land before me. He died suddenly; we were not prepared for it. That is why he was taken to the planet you were on, in the hope that the Gods would accept his soul even though his body was gone.

The priests consume the body of our sacrifices. They are the portals to the beyond. Through them our people find their way to the ancestors." Amar halted as food was served to their table, SG-1 trying to look pleased rather than sick after what he had just said.

The food resembled a salad; green leafy plants covered in purple tomato like fruit and small potatoes. They had also been supplied with a rudimentary wooden fork and cloth each.

Amar quickly started eating, SG-1 sharing looks before Teal'c shovelled some of it into his mouth, chewing silently. He eventually swallowed, pausing to see if anything happened. "Not bad." They smiled, slowly starting to eat, hoping that Teal'c would have identified anything that may harm them.

"Are you pleased?"

They nodded, Sam finding herself the first to have an empty mouth. "It's very…tasty," she answered.

Amar ignored her, looking towards the three men.

"Yep, delicious." Jack confirmed, subtly placing his hand on her knee to try and calm her.

Amar grinned. "I am glad you are satisfied. I have a question of you Colonel O'Neill. Do you wish us to treat Major Carter as a woman or a man? For she is physically female yet you treat her like a man."

Jack looked at Amar in shock before glancing to Sam. She mouthed the word "man", the priest's words from earlier ringing in his head and cementing the decision.

"Major Carter shall be treated as a man."

Amar nodded, not looking pleased at the decision. "Then I ask that you all follow me before the selections take place."

"Selections?" Daniel asked.

"It is customary for our men to select their partners after a meal. Major Carter will prove popular due to her alien status. If you wish her to be treated as a male then we should leave…Unless you yourselves would like to select partners?"

They shook their heads, waiting for Amar to rise before standing, following him through a hidden doorway in the tapestry next to the one the guards went through.

They found themselves in an office, sparsely decorated with a desk and a range of chairs. The walls were bare rock, only a rug under the desk making the floor different. The overall look of the room was that it had been quickly built long after the rest of the rooms they had seen.

Amar walked behind the desk, sitting down as SG-1 pulled four chairs together on the other side.

"Now, onto business."

"Business?" Jack asked, concerned over what they may have done unintentionally.

"I have heard much about your journeys. You kill any enemies, set the people free. I need to know you will not harm my people. I have already seen your horrified responses to some of our customs. If I allow you to stay I must trust my people are safe."

"Your people are safe Amar. We only attack in self-defence. You ensure our safety and we ensure yours."

Amar considered the words, trying to decide how much of a threat they were meant to be. "I have no reason to trust you."

"I have no reason to trust you either. I just want to keep my team safe. Hurting your people would not do that. I am not asking you to trust me, just to trust that I care about my people as much as you care about yours."

Amar did not get the chance to reply as a guard entered. "I am sorry to interrupt my Lord but I have a matter of great importance you need to look at."

Amar stood up. "Please excuse me." He rushed towards the guard, the two of them stepping out of the room.

Daniel blinked, "That was odd."

"Indeed."

They looked towards the door, all four gasping as a stone slab slid into place, blocking the exit.

"That can't be good."

"I think we have another problem," Sam replied, pointing to the ceiling.

"Carter?"

"That ceiling used to be higher didn't it?" Daniel asked, already knowing the answer.

They all quickly spread out around the room, trying to find a button or lever, anything to get them out of the room before they were crushed.


	5. The Escape

"There is no escape O'Neill," Teal'c stated, stooping to avoid banging his head.

"Don't be so negative T, we've escaped worse situations, right Carter?"

"I don't think so sir," She admitted, giving up on her search for secret panels.

Jack sighed, slamming his hand into the wall.

Daniel suddenly moved towards the centre of the room, his head moving from side to side. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh!" They all froze, the room quickly descending into silence. Slowly they picked up on a tapping sound, appearing to come from beneath the floor.

"It is below this desk," Teal'c announced, unceremoniously shoving the desk aside. Daniel moved to help him pull the rug away, revealing a trap door beneath.

"Told you there was a way out," Jack grinned, lifting the trap door up.

There was a collective gasp as Raven's head peered up at them from a tunnel below. "Stop staring and get down here, that ceiling isn't going to take its time."

Jack jumped into the tunnel, quickly followed by Sam, Daniel and finally Teal'c, landing just as a loud creak signalled the ceiling starting to crush the desk.

"We need to move," Jack ordered, "As soon as they raise that ceiling they'll realise we've gone."

Raven smiled. "That gives you a generation or two. There are many of those rooms spread around the temple. It takes much manpower to raise the ceiling. The rooms are hardly used so they will not attempt to raise it until they have to." She turned around, crawling into a tunnel behind her; candle light revealing only sections of it.

Sg-1 followed, the tunnel wide enough to allow two people to crawl next to each other but the ceiling so low that crawling was the only way to get through without pain.

"What are these tunnels?" Daniel asked, brushing his hand along one of the walls, finding it rough, as if the tunnel had quickly been dug out of the rock.

"They were built many generations ago, when the temple was first built. The ancient god had been overthrown but people were scared he would still return. These tunnels were created so that if he ever returned everyone could vanish into them. There are trap doors in every room if you know where to look. Over time they were forgotten about, my father found them as a child, he was a great explorer, he showed me where they were. I spent most of my life in these tunnels, know them off by heart."

"That's how you managed to escape?" Sam asked. "Amar made it sound like something horrible was to happen to you."

"Yes, The holding cells are quite a recent addition, they still have the trapdoors from when they were sleeping rooms. I should be safe as long as I am down here. They will not realise I am gone until the sun sets and they come for me."

"How long is that?"

She shook her head. "Not long. Maybe enough time to help you escape before the alarm is sounded."

"Ok, we'll need our gear. The guards took it when we sat down to eat, we can't get back without it."

"I'm sorry, that will be impossible, it will have been destroyed." She carried on moving, Daniel and Teal'c following her.

Sam touched Jack on the shoulder, slowing them both down. She raised her sleeve to reveal a GDO as he turned to look at her. "I put it on when Teal'c and me collected the packs, just in case a situation like this occurred."

"Good work Carter."

They shared a smile as they rushed to catch up with the others, reaching them just as they exited the tunnel into a larger room, the ceiling just high enough to make standing possible. The walls were smooth, care having been taken to make it more habitable.

"This is one of a series of 'rooms' built into the tunnel system. Thankfully my uncle is unaware of their existence. I use this room mainly as it is below one of the store rooms, I can access food, water and coverings at will."

They nodded in understanding, perching themselves on boulders scatted around the room.

"Is the Stargate guarded?" Jack asked.

"Stargate? Oh, you mean the Chappaii. That is the priests' job. My uncle will have nothing to do with it. He believes all aliens that we would meet using it will try and kill us."

"Hence the slightly extreme way of dealing with us." Daniel said.

She laughed. "My uncle must have been in a good mood, normally he would not have killed you so quickly. He must have been more concerned with my punishment. You are all very lucky."

Sam considered the words. "What is he punishing you for?"

"Bringing aliens to our land. At least that would be the public admittance. He wishes me gone. Many people feel I would be a better leader, willing to carry on my father's work, rather than Amar, who wishes to rule as the ancient god did."

"He is not a Goa'uld," Teal'c interrupted, answering the silent question posed by Jack.

"Yes, but he wishes to be one." Raven explained. "My father spent his life trying to help his people move on while his brother dedicated his life to the old ways. The people are too afraid to do anything."

Daniel nodded, opening his mouth to comment when Jack cut him off. "No Daniel."

"We have to help them Jack."

"It's none of our business."

"We cannot just leave O'Neill."

"It wouldn't be right Sir."

Jack sighed, knowing that he was outnumbered. "All right, we'll help."

Raven ran over and hugged him, before quickly steeping back embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so glad you agreed. When I saw you at the sacrifice I knew you would be able to save my people. I am sorry I didn't tell you before but I needed you to see for yourself."

Jack nodded before turning to his team. "Ok folks, we need a plan."

"If they believe you are dead then there will be very few guards," Raven pointed out.

"Ok, we head to the armoury, stock up on weapons and then pop out of a trap door a room or two down from Amar's chambers, keeps the tunnels secret. Might as well go in the front if there are few guards, capture Amar and we're sorted."

They all nodded, their smiles vanishing as the room filled with an ear splitting siren.

"What is that?" Daniel yelled.

"An alarm, they know I've escaped. The temple will fill with guards."

Jack sighed. "So much for Plan A."


End file.
